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WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, July 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) (the "Company"), parent company of West Bank, today reported that second quarter 2018 net income was $6.8 million, or $0.41 per diluted common share. This compares to second quarter 2017 net income of $6.4 million, or $0.39 per diluted common share. On July 25, 2018, the Company's Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.20 per common share. The dividend is payable on August 22, 2018, to stockholders of record on August 8, 2018.

For the first six months of 2018, net income was $14.1 million, or $0.86 per diluted common share, up from $12.5 million, or $0.76 per diluted common share, for the first six months of 2017.

"Our second quarter financial results for 2018 were solid," commented Dave Nelson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. "Year-over-year earnings growth benefited from the lower corporate tax rate but was tempered by rising interest rates and the resulting increased cost of funds. We remain optimistic about the remainder of the year and are proud to celebrate West Bank's 125th anniversary in 2018. Management remains deeply committed to serving our customers, communities and stockholders."

Brad Winterbottom, West Bank President, said, "We continue to see strong growth opportunities in all the markets we serve. We believe the Bank is well positioned with solid growth, asset quality and capital levels, and an experienced and seasoned team. The current environment, though, is not without its challenges given the flat yield curve and a very competitive lending environment. We look to the remainder of 2018 with enthusiasm, encouraged by our ability to generate organic growth in both loans and core deposits." Winterbottom also commented, "To meet the changing needs of our customers and improve the efficiency of our resources, West Bank will consolidate the Iowa City and Coralville branches this fall. Eastern Iowa customers will continue to be served by our team at the Coralville branch and through our online and mobile banking platforms."

Eastern Iowa Market President, Jim Conard, commented, "We are pleased to have recently earned the business of several locally owned companies, contributing to the Eastern Iowa market's nearly 12 percent loan growth during the first six months of 2018. Our banking team's strategy of growth through service to our customers and community was highlighted this month by the leadership of Minda Hamann, West Bank 1st Vice President, who served as chair of Coralville's 4thFest Parade."

"Our momentum in Rochester continued through the second quarter of 2018, with total loans outstanding increasing 8 percent during the first six months of 2018 and an active pipeline of new business," said Mike Zinser, Rochester Market President. "In addition to strong business loan growth, our personal banking team continues to expand our consumer base, helping to grow our market's deposits by more than 9 percent during the first six months of 2018." Zinser concluded, "Based on our increased referral activity, we believe that Rochester business owners and local professionals are spreading the word about the value our team and business model provide. More business owners are joining the trend of choosing a bank that specializes in commercial banking, rather than a retail bank trying to make it work for them."

The Company filed its report on Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission today. Please refer to that document for a more in-depth discussion of our financial results. The Form 10-Q is available on the Investor Relations section of West Bank's website at www.westbankstrong.com.

The Company will discuss its financial results on a conference call scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Central Time tomorrow, Friday, July 27, 2018. The telephone number for the conference call is 888-339-0814. A recording of the call will be available until August 10, 2018, by dialing 877-344-7529. The replay passcode is 10115037.

About West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA)West Bancorporation, Inc. is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. Serving Iowans since 1893, West Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of West Bancorporation, Inc., is a community bank that focuses on lending, deposit services, and trust services for consumers and small- to medium-sized businesses. West Bank has eight offices in the Des Moines metropolitan area, one office in Iowa City, Iowa, one office in Coralville, Iowa, and one office in Rochester, Minnesota.

Certain statements in this report, other than purely historical information, including estimates, projections, statements relating to the Company's business plans, objectives and expected operating results, and the assumptions upon which those statements are based, are "forward-looking statements" within the meanings of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements may appear throughout this report. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "projects," "future," "may," "should," "will," "strategy," "plan," "opportunity," "will be," "will likely result," "will continue" or similar references, or references to estimates, predictions or future events. Such forward-looking statements are based upon certain underlying assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Because of the possibility that the underlying assumptions are incorrect or do not materialize as expected in the future, actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that may affect future results include: interest rate risk; competitive pressures; pricing pressures on loans and deposits; changes in credit and other risks posed by the Company's loan and investment portfolios, including declines in commercial or residential real estate values or changes in the allowance for loan losses dictated by new market conditions or regulatory requirements; actions of bank and nonbank competitors; changes in local, national and international economic conditions; changes in legal and regulatory requirements, limitations and costs; changes in customers' acceptance of the Company's products and services; cyber-attacks; unexpected outcomes of existing or new litigation involving the Company; and any other risks described in the "Risk Factors" sections of other reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update such forward-looking statements to reflect current or future events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

WEST BANCORPORATION, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY

Financial Information (unaudited)

(in thousands)

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

June 30, 2018

June 30, 2017

Assets

Cash and due from banks

$

36,964

$

42,617

Federal funds sold

28,139

4,169

Investment securities available for sale, at fair value

526,793

322,597

Investment securities held to maturity, at amortized cost

—

46,317

Federal Home Loan Bank stock, at cost

9,202

11,081

Loans

1,534,404

1,435,379

Allowance for loan losses

(16,518

)

(16,486

)

Loans, net

1,517,886

1,418,893

Premises and equipment, net

22,053

23,072

Bank-owned life insurance

33,928

33,284

Other assets

22,201

15,557

Total assets

$

2,197,166

$

1,917,587

Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity

Deposits:

Noninterest-bearing

$

381,281

$

386,246

Interest-bearing:

Demand

326,567

339,821

Savings

1,004,926

690,341

Time of $250 or more

29,382

13,102

Other time

149,773

145,565

Total deposits

1,891,929

1,575,075

Short-term borrowings

860

15,160

Long-term borrowings

117,153

146,506

Other liabilities

4,872

5,960

Stockholders' equity

182,352

174,886

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

$

2,197,166

$

1,917,587

WEST BANCORPORATION, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY

Financial Information (continued) (unaudited)

(in thousands)

Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30,

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

2018

2017

2018

2017

Interest income

Loans, including fees

$

17,168

$

16,042

$

33,642

$

31,011

Investment securities

3,192

2,054

6,367

3,859

Other

177

70

258

87

Total interest income

20,537

18,166

40,267

34,957

Interest expense

Deposits

3,798

1,781

6,810

2,976

Short-term borrowings

52

23

79

69

Long-term borrowings

1,388

1,269

2,663

2,430

Total interest expense

5,238

3,073

9,552

5,475

Net interest income

15,299

15,093

30,715

29,482

Provision for loan losses

—

—

150

—

Net interest income after provision for loan losses

15,299

15,093

30,565

29,482

Noninterest income

Service charges on deposit accounts

627

631

1,276

1,231

Debit card usage fees

433

458

832

898

Trust services

575

436

1,020

828

Increase in cash value of bank-owned life insurance

152

163

310

317

Gain from bank-owned life insurance

—

—

—

307

Realized investment securities gains (losses), net

(25

)

229

(25

)

226

Other income

261

399

523

669

Total noninterest income

2,023

2,316

3,936

4,476

Noninterest expense

Salaries and employee benefits

4,775

4,449

9,288

8,786

Occupancy

1,258

1,131

2,481

2,228

Data processing

674

708

1,350

1,396

FDIC insurance

165

150

327

363

Write-down of premises

333

—

333

—

Other expenses

1,753

1,734

3,466

3,442

Total noninterest expense

8,958

8,172

17,245

16,215

Income before income taxes

8,364

9,237

17,256

17,743

Income taxes

1,600

2,872

3,108

5,272

Net income

$

6,764

$

6,365

$

14,148

$

12,471

WEST BANCORPORATION, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY

Financial Information (continued) (unaudited)

PER COMMON SHARE

MARKET INFORMATION (1)

Net Income

Basic

Diluted

Dividends

High

Low

2018

2nd Quarter

$

0.42

$

0.41

$

0.20

$

26.95

$

22.65

1st Quarter

0.46

0.45

0.18

26.85

23.65

2017

4th Quarter

$

0.26

$

0.26

$

0.18

$

28.00

$

23.40

3rd Quarter

0.40

0.39

0.18

24.75

20.90

2nd Quarter

0.39

0.39

0.18

24.60

21.40

1st Quarter

0.38

0.37

0.17

24.90

20.60

(1) The prices shown are the high and low sale prices for the Company's common stock, which trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol WTBA. The market quotations, reported by Nasdaq, do not include retail markup, markdown or commissions.

Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30,

SELECTED FINANCIAL MEASURES

2018

2017

2018

2017

Return on average assets

1.27

%

1.33

%

1.34

%

1.34

%

Return on average equity

15.15

%

14.86

%

15.96

%

14.83

%

Net interest margin

3.05

%

3.44

%

3.11

%

3.46

%

Efficiency ratio*

49.05

%

45.93

%

48.05

%

46.38

%

As of June 30,

2018

2017

Texas ratio*

1.07

%

0.43

%

Allowance for loan losses ratio

1.08

%

1.15

%

Tangible common equity ratio

8.30

%

9.12

%

* A lower ratio is more desirable.

Definitions of ratios:

Return on average assets - annualized net income divided by average assets.

Return on average equity - annualized net income divided by average stockholders' equity.

WEST BANCORPORATION, INC. AND SUBSIDIARYFinancial Information (continued) (unaudited)(dollars in thousands)

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

This report contains references to financial measures that are not defined in generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The following table reconciles the non-GAAP financial measures of net interest income, net interest margin and efficiency ratio on a fully taxable equivalent (FTE) basis to GAAP.

Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30,

2018

2017

2018

2017

Reconciliation of net interest income and annualized net interest margin on an FTE basis to GAAP:

Net interest income (GAAP)

$

15,299

$

15,093

$

30,715

$

29,482

Tax-equivalent adjustment (1)

236

597

525

1,215

Net interest income on an FTE basis (non-GAAP)

$

15,535

$

15,690

$

31,240

$

30,697

Average interest-earning assets

$

2,044,821

$

1,832,132

$

2,028,846

$

1,789,565

Net interest margin on an FTE basis (non-GAAP)

3.05

%

3.44

%

3.11

%

3.46

%

Reconciliation of efficiency ratio on an FTE basis to GAAP:

Net interest income on an FTE basis (non-GAAP)

$

15,535

$

15,690

$

31,240

$

30,697

Noninterest income

2,023

2,316

3,936

4,476

Adjustment for realized investment securities (gains) losses, net

25

(229

)

25

(226

)

Plus: losses on disposal of premises and equipment, net

—

15

—

15

Adjusted income

$

17,583

$

17,792

$

35,201

$

34,962

Noninterest expense

$

8,958

$

8,172

$

17,245

$

16,215

Adjustment for write-down of premises

(333

)

—

(333

)

—

Adjusted expense

$

8,625

$

8,172

$

16,912

$

16,215

Efficiency ratio on an adjusted and FTE basis (non-GAAP) (2)

49.05

%

45.93

%

48.05

%

46.38

%

(1) Computed on a tax-equivalent basis using a federal income tax rate of 21 percent in 2018 and 35 percent in 2017, adjusted to reflect the effect of the nondeductible interest expense associated with owning tax-exempt securities and loans. Management believes the presentation of this non-GAAP measure provides supplemental useful information for proper understanding of the financial results, as it enhances the comparability of income arising from taxable and nontaxable sources.(2) The efficiency ratio expresses noninterest expense as a percent of fully taxable equivalent net interest income and noninterest income, excluding specific noninterest income and expenses. Management believes the presentation of this non-GAAP measure provides supplemental useful information for proper understanding of the financial performance. It is a standard measure of comparison within the banking industry.